Slow start to roll election selections
Candidate nominations are slow to roll in for this year’s local body elections in Southland.
The nomination period is halfway through, and will be closing at midday on August 12.
By 4pm yesterday, there were four nominations for the Invercargill City Council and 12 for the Southland District Council.
Invercargill City Council election officer Graham Low said nominations were arriving ‘‘slower than normal’’.
Low said while many had announced they were going to stand, few had handed in the paperwork.
Karen Arnold said she would be handing in her paperwork for both council and mayor and when that was done she would hit the ground running.
Another proposed mayoral candidate Tom Conroy said he was building contacts, arranging speeches and people were stopping him in the street for conversations.
‘‘I’m looking at putting my submission in within the next week or so.’’
Mayor Tim Shadbolt said he too would hand in his paperwork in the next week.
For this election, Shadbolt said there were already dynamics coming in to play that he had never seen in earlier elections.
‘‘It’s the internet. There’s been a lot more posting about councillors and what they’re doing ... The new player in town is the internet.’’
Shadbolt said the paperwork for the election was extensive.
Southland District Council Mayor Gary Tong has been nominated for the position.
Wendy Joy Baker, who had previously informally announced she was seeking a nomination for mayor, said she was ‘‘unsure’’ whether she would be taking it further.
Southland deputy electoral officer Virginia Dillon said it was advisable for candidates to get their nominations in sooner rather than later, in case of problems.
Though nominations were slow to come in, it was not an unusual practice.
‘‘It’s a trend that’s been apparent every year,’’ Dillon said.
Stewart Island Rakiura ward councillor Bruce Ford and Jon Spraggon had both been nominated as councillor candidates for the ward. Both men had also been nominated as members of the Stewart Island Rakiura Community Board.
Councillors Ebel Kremer and Brian Dillon, as well as Nick Perham, have been nominated for the Mararoa Waimea ward.
Councillors George Harpur, for the Waiau Aparima ward, and Gavin Macpherson, for the Winton Wallacetown ward, had both been nominated as councillors to stand again.
Kara Matheson has been nominated for the Te Anau Community Board and Geoffrey Jukes for the Winton Community Board.
Three nominations had been received for Environment Southland, Grant Hubber, for the Hokonui constituency, Peter McDonald, for the Invercargill Rakiura constituency, and Lloyd McCallum for the Southern constituency.
For the Invercargill City Council, Wayne McEwan, Rodney Tribe, Carl Heenan and Rebecca Amundsen had been nominated.
For the Invercargill Licensing Trust there were two nominations, Patric O’Brien and Carl Heenan. No nominations have been received for the Bluff Community Board or the Bluff Community Pool Trust Board.